An 'April Fool's' Errand
by D.Minx
Summary: When Hades discovers a little known Roman celebration based around him the fiery god decides to bring it to Greece, by playing the Ultimate April Fools Prank on his mother-in-law! ..contains themes from P.o.P, G.W.I & D.H.L.. you guys know the deal.. R
1. The Unknown Holiday

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.H.L and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter One:****The Unknown Holiday**

Hades sighed irritated as he and Persephone arrived on Olympus for the springtime celebrations in the Great Coliseum. Every year Zeus threw a big-bash to celebrate the arrival of spring, since the gods hid themselves away during the winter months and left mortals to fed for themselves this was a big deal for the cloud-dwellers. Both Underworld rulers hated it, Persephone especially as she never got any say in the decorations despite spring being _her_ season. So every year they got their invite and groaned over the fact that once again the scroll had 'By Order of Zeus' scrawled in large red-inked letters across the top, this year's letter had a little emoticon of a frowning face holding a stick thin thunder-bolt..

Why did they both get the feeling that Zeus had _waaay_ too much time on his hands..

When they entered the big coliseum both Underworld deities looked around the decorations as though they were a personal insult.

'Yeesh..' Hades groaned inwardly. '-would ya look at all the happy decorations..' The fiery god clasped his hands together as he took in the sickeningly sweet flowers and decorative hearts.

'Uh, I know..' Persephone sounded in the same monotonous voice, thinking that the whole place reminded her of Cupid's Love Factory where the Love God made his arrows. All they needed were some inanely cooing cherubs and they were all set. '-it's all just _so_ cutsie-wutsie..'

'Yeh, well I think I'm gonna pukey-wukey..' Hades sounded then stuck a finger in his mouth and retched in disgust.

'Aww..' A new voice sounded cheerfully from behind them causing the Underworld deities to swivel around and see Hermes grinning at them widely. '-they're not that bad..' The blue Messenger God arched an eyebrow at the flaming deity.

'Oh just ignore him Hermes..' Persephone sounded airily while causing her husband to wince as she elbowed him in the ribs. '-Hades is only doing it for attention..'

'So..' Hermes sounded conversationally complete with big grin. '-how was your winter?'

'Busy..' Persephone responded airily then her husband jumped in before Hermes could ask the follow up question..

'Ya see Twinkle Toes, unlike you guys who lounge around up here _we _get a full-time gig that Zeus _oh-so-generously _dumped on us, ya see where I'm goin' with this don'tcha?' The fiery god grinned widely at the tiny blue Messenger God. Hermes blinked but decided for his own personal safety to go along with the Lord of the Underworld.

'Yeh, sure thing, I was only askin' babe no need to blow up in my face..' Hermes' grin twisted into a nervous grimace and he fluttered backwards as Hades' expression darkened a notch.

'Ix-nay on the abe-bay, capeesh bird brain? I ain't your buddy..' Hades sounded in a low threatening air, seizing Hermes by the front of his chiton and pulling him close to his burning red face. Hermes glanced around from assistance from his best friend but unfortunately Persephone could not interfere at that moment as her large green-skinned mother appeared out of the crowd.

'Persephone…' Demeter's voice trilled in that sickly sweet tone her daughter hated. '-cooie!' She waved furiously and made a beeline towards the young Goddess of Life who sighed heavily in a 'what does she want now' manner.

'There you are pumpkin, I was wondering if I could-' Demeter broke off from her words at the sight of a flaming red Hades who was practically throttling a terrified Hermes. '_What in the name of Gaia do you think your doing Hades?_' The green-skinned Goddess of Nature squawked irritably with her hands on her hips. At the sound of his mother-in-law's voice Hades returned blue and flashed Demeter an oily grin. He instantly released Hermes who didn't get a chance to escape as Hades wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a close embrace.

'Demeter, my sweet little sunflower..' His voice oozed with charisma as the fiery god schmoozed his mother-in-law shamelessly as ever. '-we were just messin' around..'

Demeter arched an eyebrow at the slightly guilty undertones of her son-in-law's expression then the Goddess of Nature turned to Hermes for confirmation. At least he was an honest god..

Hermes gulped as he caught the 'agree with me if you want to live' look in Hades' eyes. He hated getting in the middle of arguments, especially when it involved the Underworld family as Hades just blackmailed him into taking his side. Hermes then grinned widely at Demeter, trying not to let it be as uneasy as he was.

'Uh, yeh..' Hermes sounded, amazed how bright and breezy his own voice sounded despite the fact that his insides were quivering with fear. '-me and the H-man are always goofing around like this..' He even wrapped an arm around the fiery god's neck to emphasis his point.

Demeter looked satisfied by the answer and smiled at them both, failing to notice the look of total disbelief that was now etched across her daughter's face. Persephone knew fine well that the two of them were far from 'buddies'. Hades only put up with the ever-annoying presence of Hermes in the Underworld because of her, and if she of her mother had not intervened at that moment her darling husband would have been grilling his own Hermes-style shish-kebab using the Messenger God's cadalus as a skewer.

'Anyway..' The cheery voice of her mother brought Persephone back from the mental picture of Hermes being skewered and grilled, the young goddess blinked then turned to Demeter who continued. '-I wanted to talk to you about the flowers on Sicily this year..'

Persephone rolled her eyes wearily.. _Oh here it comes.._

* * *

'What's wrong with my flowers?' Persephone sounded in a slightly defensive tone folding her arms tightly across her chest. She and her mother were now wandering aimlessly away from the gods behind them.

'Oh nothing, nothing..' Demeter sounded instantly but Persephone wasn't buying it. '-it's just that they all seem to be a bit..' The Goddess of Nature paused looking for the right word. '-gloomy, that's all..'

'What do you mean they're all 'a bit gloomy'?' Persephone frowned offended, not liking where this was going. Demeter glanced around the coliseum nervously then lead her daughter to a secluded spot so they could continue in peace. Not many gods on the cloud knew Persephone could manifest a full head of flaming gold hair when she was irritated and the Goddess of Nature wanted to keep it that way.

'Well..' Demeter sounded uneasily, she hated arguing with her child but they never seemed to see eye to eye on the spring theme. '-I thought we agreed that this spring's theme was 'Garden-Fresh'?' Persephone shook her head with incredulity.

'No mother, you just picked the theme yourself and expected me to go along with it.' The young goddess sounded huffily, Demeter always picked the theme. Persephone had wanted to go with 'Morning-Dew' which would consist of snowdrops and primrose with pansies and crocuses poking out to add a subtle hint of colour, keeping the colour low-key until summer when the place would be awash with brilliant colours anyway. Her mother had dismissed that instantly saying that it was too depressing for the surface..

'Look..' Demeter sighed heavily. '-all I'm suggesting is that you add a splash of colour to your flowers, maybe some cerise or sunshine yellow to break up the dull colours you have already..' She cupped her daughter's chin. '-your not in the Underworld now sweetheart, don't be afraid to use a brighter shade now and then..' She beamed at her daughter.

Demeter had never understood Persephone's fascination with dark and dismal colours. She had been attracted to them as long as the Goddess of Nature could remember and no matter how hard she tried to break this 'unhealthy fixation' she couldn't. She remembered getting her little Cora a small paintbrush and paint-pot one year so that her daughter could paint the faces of flowers. Persephone had loved it, everywhere she went she took this little paint set and spent hours painstakingly painting the flowers. But the two goddesses would argue over the fact that Persephone didn't like painting with bright colours. Then when her husband inevitably passed away the arguments got worse, without Iason to act as a buffer between them Persephone and Demeter's relationship grew strained… and Persephone lost her love for painting flowers.

Demeter still kept the little paintbrush and paint-pot. She had long since abandoned any hopes of Persephone rekindling any of her old feelings about her childhood hobby, but perhaps one day one of her own children might inherit their mother's love for painting flowers..

'Alright..' Persephone sighed heavily deciding to relent, her mother would just harp on and on about this until she got her way anyway.. '-I'll think about it ok?'

'That's my girl..' Demeter pinched her daughter's cheek causing the Goddess of Life to wince irritably..

* * *

The second the two goddess' were out of earshot, unfortunately Demeter didn't move them out of eyeshot, Hades' smirk dropped and he sounded in a soft irritable tone,

'Take it off or I break it off..' Hermes instantly retracted his arm from it's potion around the fiery god's neck as Hades released Hermes from his steel-like grip.

'Y'know Hades, would it kill ya to be nice?' Hermes sounded still fluttering by the flame-haired god like some irksome fly.

'Probably..' Hades sighed dismissively, leaning against the pillar and surveying the crowd of gods with a bored expression as Hermes mused silently for a moment. Most likely trying to figure out how to strike a conversation with the stubborn Lord of the Dead, he was very persistent..

'I don't get it Hades..' Hermes finally sounded causing the fiery god's yellow eyes to swivel back surprised that the tiny blue god was still there. '-you moan constantly about being cooped up in the Underworld but when you guys get invited up here you act like your being forced into it..'

'That's because we _are_ being forced into it..' Hades instantly pulled out his 'invitation' from nowhere and shoved it in Hermes' face. '-ya ever read what Bolt Boy likes to write at the top of _our 'invitations'_?' The 'By Order of Zeus' red-inked letters shone brightly in the daylight..

'Oh and look..' Hades carried on with cheerful sarcasm jabbing his finger at the emoticon in the top corner. '-this years _'invitation'_ came with free artwork, do ya think Zeus'll sign it?' The fiery god then snatched the scroll back off of Hermes and stuffed it into his chiton pocket.

'Ah, for cryin' out loud..' Hermes sounded in disbelief at Hades' immature dramatics. '-he only puts that because he knows ya won't attend if he doesn't..' The blue Messenger God chuckled good-naturedly which was almost instantly quelled by a firm look from Hades.

'It must be just peachy being at the top. Followers, temples, holidays… I mean what've I got?' Hades sounded in a tedious voice then sighed heavily. 'Just a small cameo in Demeter's mysteries.' Hades shook his flaming head dramatically..

'There's always April Fool's Day..' Hermes smiled cheerfully.

Hades blinked confused then swivelled back around to the tiny blue god.

'What in Tartarus is April Fool's Day?' The fiery god sounded, thinking it sounded vaguely like an idiot's convention. Hermes' jaw suddenly dropped.

'You don't know!' He stated in disbelief, almost falling to the cloudy-ground in shock. 'Geez Louise Hades! I would have thought you of all gods would know what that day is!' Hermes exclaimed, still not believing that Hades didn't have a clue what this day was all about.

'Yeh, yeh, yeh…' Hades sounded in a bored voice, waving his hand as if skating over everything Hermes had just uttered. '-now we've established that I'm behind with the times why don't you enlighten me on what this so-_called_ holiday is all about..'

'Well.. err… if ya just want it ina nutshell.' Hermes sounded vaguely. 'It's all about you babe..'

'_What?_' Hades sounded, his eyes bulging in both shock and disbelief. He was staring at Hermes as though trying to see if he was joking but the tiny blue god look serious. 'So how come I haven't heard of this holiday before?' The fiery god asked sceptically.

'Well, it's only celebrated in certain parts of Rome so-'

'Oh..' Hades interrupted Hermes with a loud groan. '-that'll explain it then..' The fiery god never listened to Roman prayers because it really burned his flames when they called him 'Pluto'. He hated that name, he wouldn't have even called his dog that name. He had painstakingly researched another name in which those pathetic mortals could call him 'Dis Pater' or 'Dis' for short… sounded so much better.

Hermes meanwhile, checked his sundial and cursed when he realised he'd been floating in one spot way to long, he had to mingle with the other gods. It was an unfortunate draw back to being the Messenger God, you were always on call. You always had to be on the move just in case another god needed an envoy to take a message down to their minions or in case there was a problem you could resolve with soothing words of mitigation.

'Holy Hera I gotta fly big guy..' Hermes sounded in a panicky tone causing Hades to raise an eyebrow. '-places to go, people to greet but here..' The tiny blue Messenger God whipped out a large scroll from nowhere and passed it to the fiery Lord of the Underworld. '-this will give ya all the info ya need on April Fool's Day 'kay?' Suddenly his winged sandals began to flutter impatiently, unable to stand waiting for their master anymore..

'Whoa… easy fellas..' Hermes sounded clutching the pillar to try and stop himself moving away. This only made the sandals flap more furiously. '-catcha later Hades..' Was all the Messenger God could manage before his sandals managed to tug him free. Hermes went whooshing backwards at an incredible speed uttering, '-hey wait a minute, who's drivin' these things?'

Hades merely watched him disappear off with an amused smirk as he shoved the scroll down his chiton. He'd read it later..

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, as I stated in my disclaimer this is a story based on the Roman origins of the under-rated holiday of April Fool's Day (or as it was known in those times April Fish Day)… I came across this myth by accident while doing some research for P.o.P a while back and since April Fool's is one of my favourite days of the year I was very excited to learn that it was linked to my favourite gods… for those of you who don't know the myth, don't worry you'll find out soon enough (for those who do, keep schtum or you'll give the storyline away 'kay).. The title of this story is a __massive__ clue (hint, hint).._

_I know it's not even Christmas yet and it's not really the time to be starting this story but I'm hoping to give all my readers new appreciation for this holiday… as well as giving you all a little boost to go out and plan the best ever April Fool's Day prank! _

_Come on… Do it for Hades! XP_

_Please review… and stay tuned!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	2. A Diabolical Scheme

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.H.L and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Two:****A Diabolical Scheme..**

'The festival of Cerelia is the celebration of spring and yadda, yadda, yadda..' Hades slouched further down in his throne as he skim read the scroll Hermes had given him a few days ago at the spring celebrations on Olympus. With his wife away for the day the fiery god had decided to some background reading on this 'April Fool's Day' holiday..

'Ah-hah! Here we go.. Proserpina was abducted by Pluto-' Hades curled his lip in disgust before sighing heavily and adding, '-_sheesh_, why did they let that spiky-haired yutz gimmie that name?' The fiery god frowned briefly before his large black pupils returned to the scroll and he continued reading.

'-Proserpina was abducted while she was gathering lilies on Sicily. Her mother Ceres was _so_ distressed to hear about the abduction of her daughter..' Hades raised his brow then added in a snide tone, '-I _bet_ she was!' The fiery god remembered how Demeter had reacted to finding out about him and her daughter, causing a world-wide famine was probably not the most subtle way of voicing your disapproval. But thank the Fates she had calmed down and accepted them now..

Hades blinked and ran his round golden eyes over the scroll having lost his place due to his musing. After a moment of scanning the lines of writing the fiery god finally resumed his reading..

'-Ceres began to make the futile search for her missing child and this 'fool's errand' has become the central focus of the holiday of April Fool's Day which is celebrated on the first.' Hades lowered the scroll and began to massage his temples slowly while trying to cool his burning flames.

'_Great_, just great..' Hades sounded in a soft grated tone. '-that'll be _another_ civilisation that _good-for-nothing-schlub_ has managed to convince into believing that I'm a _pathetic_ _loser!_' The fiery god's face suddenly flashed a deep angry red. He really hated that 'Homer-yutz'.. Hades had promised his wife he wouldn't touch the mortal bard until he was dead but this was going to be another strike against him. Returning blue and smirking slightly amused by his petty vengeance the fiery Lord of the Underworld pulled out another scroll from his pocked and unfurled it. On it was the title:** Afterlife Revenge List**. Pulling a flame-topped, bony quill out of a curl of smoke and ran it down the list of mortals that had really infuriated him, needless to say the list was ridiculously long. Among the many names were: Orpheus, Asclepius, Hercules and of course Homer. Repeat offenders were given a black tally against their name and when they finally kicked the bucket, their stretch in Tartarus would be determined by the number against their names.

There was something strangely satisfying about scoring another little vertical line against Homer's name, so far the bard had managed to notch up ten years in Tartarus. Rolling up the scroll Hades returned it to it's home, down the front of his chiton, then slouched back in his seat musing over the Cerelia Celebration scroll.

'Ok..' Hades sighed lowering his scroll, after a further moment of studying. '-so the connection to me is vague but hey… a holiday's a holiday, right guys..' He swivelled towards his two idiotic minions wanting their opinion.

Neither Pain and Panic had been paying their boss the slightest bit of attention as both imps were trying to make musical farts by placing an hand in their armpit and pumping their arms. Pain snickered as Panic finally made a soft flumping noise.

'Hey, didja hear that..' The green imp sounded excitedly, '-doesn't that sound like something an old man would do..' He repeated the soft farting noise which caused Pain to roll onto his back in hysterics.

Hades cleared his throat irritably while lancing them both with a stern gaze. Both Pain and Panic's yellow eyes swivelled nervously to the sound of their boss' irritation.

'Uh, did you what something your most combustibleness?' Pain sounded in a simpering anxious tone as Hades' eyes narrowed dangerously.

'Oh, no, no but uh, now that you ask..' The fiery god sounded airily before continuing with a horrible twisted smirk on his blue lips. '-if I ask you a question-' Hades' smirk vanished and was replaced by and angry scowl. '_-at least have the decency to pay attention!_'

Both imps jumped instantly and clutched each other nervously as Hades erupted into flames, burning their faces to a blacked crisp causing the terrified smiling grimaces to become stuck so both imps now looked like grotesque golly-wog dolls. After a brief moment of suffering the imps prised themselves apart before shaking their ashen faces so the soot fell off like black dust. They both then turned to Hades smiling expectantly. Pain elbowed his green-skinned partner in the ribs so he'd address Hades this time.

'So boss uh..' Panic sounded, wincing painfully. '-what was it you wanted again?'

'I wanted your opinion about April Fool's Day..' Hades replied.

'What's April Fool's Day?' Pain instantly sounded scratching his head confused. Hades seethed irritably as the pink imp had just proved that the pair of them had not been listening to him, as per-usual.

'It's my holiday-' Hades spoke in a voice laid with annoyance, wondering why he wasted his time on these two morons.

'_You_ have a holiday?' Panic interrupted, his bug-eyed yellow eyes widening with disbelief.

'Yes Panic..' Hades pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his legendry patience slipping away with every breathe he took. '-I have a holiday, which you would know if you'd been _paying_ _attention.._' Hades fumed, trying to control the urge to smite the imps for a second time. Both imps looked nervous again their horns drooping as they tried to look as pathetic as possible, sometimes if they look pathetic enough Hades wouldn't smite them because he was just so disgusted by them..

Hades' lower lip curled in revulsion at the two snivelling idiots before him..

'Ahh, forget it..' The fiery god groused, he hated it when the imps just looked so utterly pathetic. The Lord of the Underworld then turned away from his minions with an irritable pout… this was why he preferred Persephone, at least she was _interested_ in the things he said.

'No, no, no..' Pain sounded in a panicky tone. '-tell us about April Fool's Day..'

'Yeh..' Panic sounded while nodding his head furiously. '-how did you end up with a holiday Hades?' This seemed to snap Hades out of his funk as his rounded golden eyes turned back around to his two imps who were now looking eagerly at their boss… a small smile spread over his full blue lips.

'Well..' The fiery god turned back to his minions looking suddenly much more cheerful.. after all, talking about himself always brought a smile to his face..

* * *

'So because of Homer's stupid poem, all these Roman guys play pranks on each other to commemorate the day you kidnapped Miss Persephone?' Panic sounded, raising a brow sceptically. Hades sighed heavily at the green imp's words..

'Yeh, yeh, yeh..' The fiery god waved his hand dismissively. '-I know where your goin' with this..'

'I don't get it..' Pain finally spoke up after a long moment of extensive thinking, his head now throbbed. '-I thought Miss Persephone came down in the fall?'

'Yeh..' Panic nodded in agreement. '-and she came down willingly..' The green imp crossed his arms still wearing his cynical look..

'Ok, ok…' Hades smirked amused by the imps. '-so some of the details are a little ski-whiff, so what?' The fiery god shrugged nonchalantly.

'So what!' Panic repeated in a mixture of shock and disbelief. 'You don't even like the Homer! Why do you care about some stupid holiday based on his lies?'

'Because it's about _me!_' Hades screamed the last word while turning red as his orange hair shot a foot into the air. At his sudden flare-up the imps dived behind the chessboard and peeped out nervously as their boss calmed down.

'It's about me..' Hades uttered softly complete with a heavy sigh, his head bent forward and his eyes downcast to the floor at his feet. It was the first time any kind of recognition had come his way. Ok sure, it involved his wife and mother-in-law too but it was still nice to _finally_ be acknowledged…

'Y'know..' Pain suddenly spoke, hauling himself up onto the chessboard and looking at his boss. '-if this April Fool-thingy means that much to you, why don't we celebrate it here..' The pink imp suggested causing Panic to suddenly grin widely and he nod enthusiastically.

'Hey yeh..' He chipped in brightly. '-a few streamers and balloons would liven this place up and we could play pranks..' The green imp broke off at the thought of how Hades would react to any practical joke that was played on him. He then shook nervously and added, '-on each other..' He gestured furiously to show he meant that the two of them would be the prank victims. Pain's eyes momentarily widened then he too grinned and nodded feverishly in agreement.

'Hmm..' Hades rubbed his chin thoughtfully, musing over what the imps had said. '-y'know that's not such a bad idea..' The fiery god suddenly grinned at his two inept minions who were looking at him keenly, it was very rare that they got to celebrate anything. However what Hades had in mind was not what his minions had hoped for.

'We could bring awareness of April Fool's Day over to Greece..' Hades declared smiling hugely, clearly pleased with himself for coming to this conclusion.

'Uh, yeh..' Panic sounded and merely scratched his horns looking confused. '-I guess we could do that..' He sounded reluctantly, there was no point in arguing with the boss, he'd clearly made his mind up about this.

'Wait..' Pain sounded, still trying to follow the conversation train. '-so we're not having a party now?'

'We were _never_ having a party!' Hades snapped irritably as he slumped down in front of the map of Greece and began fiddling idly with various pieces on the board..

'_Aww_..' Pain sounded in a whiney tone. '-but I like parties..'

'I don't _care!_' Hades roared whipping around and blazing momentarily red before returning blue and continuing in a cool voice, 'We're doin' this _my_ way, ok? Now keep schtum, I need to work out how to sell April Fool's Day to these mortal-suckers upstairs..' The fiery god then stroked his chin and hummed thoughtfully. However inspiration seemed to be on a coffee break right now as nothing was coming to mind. Hades' large round golden orbs rolled downwards to the Cerelia Celebration scroll that was now laying unfurled in front of him. Gazing absent-mindedly at the words on the piece of parchment and suddenly his attention was snared by part of a sentence that seemed to jump off the page:

'_Ceres began to make the futile search for her missing child and this 'fool's errand'-'_

And just like that.. inspiration was back in the saddle.

'Of course..' Hades uttered a twisted smirk slowly working his way across his angular face. '-the answer has been sittin' right in front of me the whole time!' He declared, skim reading over the details on the 'origin' of April Fool's Day. His eyes narrowed into a slightly diabolical look as his grin widened considerably..

…_Oh yeh, this could work…_

'Uh, pardon us for interrupting your epiphany your most vindictiveness..' Hades blinked at Pain's words, he'd almost forgotten about the Dense-Duo standing at the far-side of the chessboard. His golden eyes swivelled onto his minions.

'-can we know what the big scheme is?' Panic finished in an excitable rush while Pain grinned widely.

'Certainly boys..' Hades sounded cheerfully then flashed them both a grin. '-_I _am gonna send Demeter on a _little_ 'fool's errand'..' He sat back and waited for the kudos and since the imps weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the torture kit they didn't disappoint.

'Wow..' Pain sounded, clearly impressed by this plan. '-I would never have thought of that!'

'How are ya gonna get Demeter to fall for it sir?' Panic instantly chipped in with curious anticipation. A twisted smirk of amusement twisted onto his face as the fiery Lord of the Underworld gazed at his two dim-witted underlings..

'Easy..' Hades sounded holding out the scroll and unfurling it so the writing on the parchment was facing both Pain and Panic. '-I gotta step-by-step guide right here boys..' His golden eyes narrowed and his twisted smirk widened into a devious leer. Before Pain and Panic could read the scroll properly it furled up on itself and Hades' long greyish-blue fingers curled around it tightly.

'So whatta ya need us to do first boss..' Pain sounded jumping down from the chessboard to show how keen he was to get started..

'Oh no..' Hades sounded, getting out of his throne and waggling his finger in a reprimanding manner. '-_you two _have a tendency to mess things up, and this is one scheme that I don't need either of you screwing up for me..'

Both imps blinked stunned by these words..

'You mean your..' Pain sounded in a whimpering voice, his bottom lip trembling at what his boss was suggesting.

'-dismissing us?' Panic finished for his pink-skinned partner who seemed too upset to finish his own sentence. The green imp was a little upset about the prospect of being excluded from this scheme, but in a way he was also relieved because it meant that they wouldn't have to deal with a peeved Demeter when she realised that Hades was pulling a prank on her… that wasn't going to be a pretty sight.

'Hey, it's nothing personal guys..' The fiery Lord of the Underworld shrugged inconsiderately, ignoring the fact that he'd just upset his minions. '-but, uh..' Hades tailed off trying to think of a descent excuse but his inspiration seemed to have gone for an early lunch. '-y'know..' He shrugged nonchalantly before vanishing off in a curl of black smoke to go plot in peace.

Both Pain and Panic gawped at the spot their boss had left.

'He ditched us..' Pain sounded, still unable to grasp the fact that Hades didn't want their help. '-I can't believe he _actually_ ditched us..' Panic rolled his eyes at the bewildered and confused look on his partner's face.. Then realising that Pain needed something to make him forget this disheartening news the skinny green imp placed his hand in his arm pit and pumped it.. At the sound of the soft farting noise and a small smile curved Pain's lips.

Panic did the noise again and this time the pink imp began laughing amused..

'Oh yeh..' The green imp smirked clenching both his fists gleefully. '-I have got it goin' on..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, at least now I don't have to tell you the origins of April Fool's Day.. That's right, if you haven't guessed the plot yet I'm not telling you (and if you have don't ruin it for other people!).._

_Ok, this one was a Hades chapter, and most of this story will be following Hades as he carries out his prank but don't worry… Persephone will be back in the next chap…_

_Stay tuned peeps… and don't forget to review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	3. Preparations for a 'Kidnapping'

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Three:****Preparations for a 'Kidnapping' **

Persephone hummed happily as she kneaded the soil back around the tiny plantlet. She could have easily just orbed the tiny plant into position but there was nothing more therapeutic than working with her own hands.. The young goddess smiled as she cupped a handful of soil and rubbed it so it trickled between her fingers, letting it fall back to the ground where it had came from. It was so rich and full of nutrients… and it was all thanks to her husband's explosive temper.

Hades had never had the patience for the Harvest Festivals on Eleusis, the mortals were always in his face and there was no escape.. Hades could only put up with it for so long, repressing his annoyance which manifested itself though a flickering twitch of his left eyelid. Eventually when the company of these loathsome mortals became too much Hades had lost it.. swiftly changing from his usual pale greyish-blue skin to full-on blazing red. His whole being seemed to just rumble and shake before he roared in fury, sizzling white-hot flames spreading everywhere as the fiery god went off like some long-dormant volcano..

When the fiery Lord of the Underworld had finally let out all his pent-up anger he changed back to blue breathing heavily, trying to control his ragged breathe and still glaring at the mortals who had all been looking very tense.. Persephone broke free from the crowd and wrapped her arms around her husband cooing soft words of endearment, already knowing why her husband was upset..

..and then Demeter had appeared out of the crowd wearing an odd expression. The plump green-skinned goddess looked neither angry or upset by Hades' outburst, in fact her eyes weren't even focused on the fiery god or her own child who was enveloped in his embrace… her wide cornflower blue eyes were focused on the field behind them. The tough roots of the harvested barley, wheat and corn that had been in the surrounding fields had all been burnt to a blackened crisp. She wandered over to the field nearest her with what looked like sorrow on her face.. Hades made to apologise, thinking that she was upset because he had destroyed all her precious crops, but Demeter held up a tiny plump hand halting him before the words were fully out of his mouth. Her hand then turned down to the soil and cupped the mixture of soil and ash in her green fingers, letting it fall through them as she studied the dirt. She then turned to Hades and beamed widely..

It turned out that burning back the roots of the previous years crop meant that the new shoots could grow in quicker.. and because the ash was ploughed back in and mixed with the soil the burnt up roots from last years crop were helping this years crop to grow… and so by the following year, all the farmers were doing it..

Unfortunately for Hades, it was this one act of accidental violence that had cemented him firmly into the hearts of the mortals of Eleusis. Before, his position of God of Wealth merely meant that all forms of precious metals came from his realm.. but thanks to scorching that field of barley roots in Eleusis Hades, or Plutus as the Eleusians had began to call him, was now _supposedly_ responsible for bringing nutrients to the soil.. Demeter encouraged this rumour despite the fact that it was not strictly true, the Goddess of Nature was thrilled to finally have Hades involved in her seasons..

Persephone smiled widely as she thought about her fiery other half. It was nice to have a separate identity to her husband but she did miss him when she was away. The young goddess turned to her next plantlet then began digging a small hole for it. Placing the plant lovingly in she then filled in the earth around it. Persephone gently pressed the dirt around the lily plantlet then admired her handiwork.. She didn't know why her mother didn't like her pale flowers. Their pastel colours and delicate petals were perfect for spring.. Deciding to humour Demeter the young Goddess of Life picked up a few brightly coloured pansies and began to mingle them with her pale lilies, forget-me-nots and snowdrops. She figured that the pansies bright tri-colours might shut her mother up for a little while… and she guessed they didn't look so bad. Persephone's mind soon wandered back to her husband as she planted the new flowers… she wondered what he was doing now..

* * *

Hades cursed furiously.

Plutus.. _Plutus?_ The very name made the fiery god's blood boil.. _Why in the name of Erebus did they have to start calling me Plutus?_ Hades groaned inwardly, they had probably got the idea from those stupid Romans.. Since it was spring Hades found his head pounding from all the prayers of farmers begging him to bless their soil… _Lousy bunch of whiners, pray to someone who gives a damn.. _Hades blamed Demeter for the whole mess, if she hadn't encouraged those bogus rumours then he wouldn't have to raid the bathroom cabinet for a migraine remedy every three hours. Curse the immortal idiot who decided that all prayers should be telepathically heard by the god they were meant for..

Hades sighed heavily rubbing his temples trying to tune out the constant drone of whispers that were buzzing inside his head. He didn't know why they bothered praying to him, he wasn't going to do anything. Spring was his 'chill out' season where the fiery god would kick back and relax, a sort of reward to himself after the hectic winter season.. and he was damn sure he wasn't wasting his personal 'me' time on the surface listening to some pathetic-yutz whine about soil..

Besides, he had more important things on his mind..

The fiery god returned to his musings… timing the staged 'kidnapping' right was crucial… according to the scroll he would only have from midnight until midnight in order to pull off the stunt and then utter the words 'April Fools' otherwise he would be the fool… and there was no way in the cosmos that would be happening!

So Hades stroked his long angular chin thoughtfully… he had to be smart about this. One thing stuck out instantly in his mind.. in order for the prank to seem as realistic as possible the fiery god had chosen to not inform his wife about it. This realisation brought a stab of guilt to Hades, he was used to telling his wife everything… or most things at least. But this was _huge_, he'd never in the whole time they'd been together kept any kind of plot hidden from his wife. He didn't like the idea of doing it but Persephone would never agree with the prank… and besides, if she didn't know about the plot then her reaction to getting kidnapped would be genuine.. Sure, she'd be furious with him but hey, the more believable the prank the easier Demeter would fall for it.

The Lord of the Underworld knew that this prank was going to irritate both his wife and his mother-in-law, and probably a few other gods that he really didn't give a damn about, but Hades felt that it would be worth the effort. Sure he found the mortals irritating when they were right up in his face, but every piece of mortal favour that the fiery god received through his wife and that _infuriating_ poem Homer wrote was one more favour that pushed him up the popularity chart… and that would really annoy Zeus.

* * *

On the morning of April the first, Persephone rose from her bed, dressed quickly and then pecked her sleeping husband on the cheek before heading off to the surface to resume her work on Sicily. The moment the Goddess of Life was out of the room the Lord of the Underworld winked one golden eye open and smiled.

His poor little wifey of Lifey had no idea what he was planning… A soft laugh escaped his lips at this thought… she wouldn't even see him coming until it was too late.

The fiery god threw back the covers of his bed and instantly headed for a shower. If he was going to sweep his little wife off of her two perfectly formed little feet then he was going to have to be squeaky clean… after all, he wanted to look his best for the woman he loved. Hades had always been a bit of a clean-freak, it came with the territory of ruling the filthiest realm in the cosmos. No matter how hard you tried it was next to impossible to remain clean for very long in this subterranean realm.

After his shower Hades picked up his favourite bottle of aftershave, Old Spice… it wasn't only his favourite, it was his wife's too. And even though what he was planning to snatch Persephone from the fields by the Pergus lake where she would be working with her minions the Sirens today, he still longed to impress her… just as if this was like their first date all over again. Hades hummed happily as he took a small sample of the aftershave and slapped it onto his cheeks. He then admired himself in the mirror. Although Hades was still bald as he hadn't bothered to relight his hair yet, he admired the smooth skin of his long angular jaw before grinning and was pleased by the whiteness of his fangs. They weren't quite as bright as Zeus' but they still looked better now than before when they were stained yellow. Once the god had finished preening himself he then relit his blue flaming head and turned away from the mirror and to his neatly folded clothes on the dresser. Being in a slightly lazy mood, and with no Persephone to tell him otherwise, Hades snapped his fingers causing his clothes to vanish in a puff of black smoke and reappear on his body. Altering his silver skull chiton pin so that it sat in a more comfortable position then sighing heavily, the blue-flamed Lord of the Underworld then headed out of his bedroom.

Time to have a talk with the imps..

* * *

Panic sighed heavily stretched out on the chessboard.

'He did say the meeting was at seven didn't he?' Pain sounded unsurely he was sitting next to where his skinny green partner was sprawled out.

'Yeh..' Panic replied frowning at the memo in is hands, double checking the details. '-that's what it says here.. Meeting at seven sharp, be there or be fired!' Panic shuddered, he and Pain both then turned to look at the time: five past seven… so where was Hades?

'Gee… the boss has never been late for a meeting before..' Pain observed casually.

'I know…' Panic sounded. '-what do ya suppose happens now?'

'I dunno..' Pain shrugs. '-you don't think he'll fire himself do you?' Panic could only blink confused before a voice sounded from directly behind them both.

'Pfft… over your dead bodies..'

Both Pain and Panic's round yellow eyes widened in shock. Then like a pair of quivering cowards they swivelled around to see their boss who was scowling at them both.

'Boss…' Panic sounded complete with simpering grin. '-so what is the plan for today?'

'The plan is..' Hades paused for suspense grinning deviously, both imps looked eager to serve. '-I'll go up to the surface and grab Persephone while you boys-'

'Uh-huh..' Pain and Panic sounded simultaneously, their eyes widening keenly.

'-stay here and cover for me..' Hades could barely contain the smirk that was threatening to burst free as both imps deflated faster than a popped balloon.

'What?' Panic sounded confused.

'You still don't want us to help you with-'

'_No!_' Hades snapped irritably, his flames flaring orange. Hades instantly returned blue trying to calm his breathing as he was getting frustrated with these to dense minions. His nostrils flared impatiently. '-if you _really _want to help me you can stay here and manage the stiffs while I'm gone, ya think you can handle that guys?'

'But sir..' Pain sounded imploringly.

'-isn't there _anything_ we can do?' Panic finished keenly and his pink-skinned partner nodded enthusiastically..

'Hmmm..' Hades sounded in mock-thought, intending to turn the imps down… but then a light went off in his head and his grin twisted deviously. '-_Well… _I guess there is _one_ thing you can do for me..' The fiery god's voice purred and both imps were grinning again.

Hades swivelled around to them and raised his brows.

'You can fetch my chariot..' He sounded and both imps groaned.

'Aww man..' Pain whined.

'Do we have to..' Panic sounded sulkily.

'_Hey!_' Hades snapped. 'If ya don't wanna help, _don't offer!_' He paused, glaring at the imps for a long moment, sometimes this was all it took to get the right reaction. Which is exactly what happened as both Pain and Panic threw him a nervous look before suddenly grinning in a simpering fashion.

'We'll just bring it right out..' Panic sounded narrowing his eyes in a little anxious leer.

'Anything you say boss..' Pain finished devotedly and both he and his green-skinned partner vanished off to harness the griffin to the chariot and bring it around for their boss.

'Heh, flame-kissing little yutzes..' Hades smirked in amusement watching the imps vanish off down the stairs leading to the river Styx. It was then that he spotted a long black travelling cloak on a hook by the exit his minions had just gone through. The fiery god removed it and studied it thoughtfully, the cloak would be perfect for concealing his identity from his wife and any others who would no doubt recognise the flaming quiff on his head. He put it on over his usual Underworld attire and went down the stairs to where his black twisted chariot and scaly griffin were waiting obediently for him..

…it was time to start this holiday off with style!

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, thank you so much for the reviews as they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, bit like Christmas… I'm glad that people like this fic and I know it seems strange to write a kidnap fic after already covering most aspects of the Persephone/Hades myth already in P.o.P but this is more of an April Fool's fic anyway and of course, as my fans have come to expect, there is a little Hades/Persephone myth coming into it too, as well as bits from Homer's Hymn as this is what Hades is using as his 'step-by-step guide' for staging this elaborate hoax…_

_How will Persephone react to being kidnapped? Will she play along when she finds out it's Hades? All will be revealed soon… stay tuned peeps!_

_Take Care…_

_Good Luck for 2011..._

_Lots of Love… Ditzy X_


	4. The REAL Abduction of Persephone

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Four:****The REAL Abduction of Persephone**

Lake Pergus was a peaceful pool of water nestled in-between the Erean mountains, this made it seem like a safely secluded location, far away from the prying eyes of the other gods. In the days before she was married Persephone had often come here to escape the ever-watchful eyes of her mother. It was one of the few places, besides her grove where the young goddess could just be herself. Over her many visits to the lake Persephone had become friends with it's resident naiad Cyane.

Cyane was probably one of the few resident nymphs on Sicily that Persephone had a genuine friendship with.. and although Cyane was at least half her age the watery little nymph was very fond of Persephone. The naiad was only about two feet tall, the same as the Sirens, she had very pale blue skin and wavy blue hair that was the same colour as her crisp blue watery home. Cyane's eyes were a deep murky grey colour and her modest halter-neck chiton only came down to her knees. The little water naiad rarely left the peace and serenity of her home in Lake Pergus so she had very few friends… as a result Cyane regarded Persephone as her best friend.

But even though Persephone was very fond of the little naiad the young Queen of the Underworld was very nervous after the 'Minthe incident' about introducing her new 'best friend' to her husband. She knew that Hades would never do anything and that Cyane was completely besotted by Apollo but it didn't stop her worrying about what would happen if the two ever met..

Cyane and the three Sirens were squealing in high-pitched girly voices and babbling in Nymph language as they frolicked in the waters of the Pergus with flowers in their hair. As they were splashing and gleefully squealing Persephone was sprawled out on the grassy banks helping the late-blooming spring flowers to pop out of their tightly curled petals. Most of the plants that grew in the small meadowed grasslands around the lake were personal favourites of Cyane. As a result most of these plants were pastel blues, pinks, purples, sunshine yellow and anything else that made the little naiad's eyes widen in delight, which was why Persephone had brought some brightly coloured pansies for Cyane. The little naiad had squealed in pleasure at the tri-coloured flowers then had picked out a sunny spot near the waters edge where she could admire them while floating on her back absorbing the sun.

The young goddess smiled and giggled at the four girls frolicking, she was pleased that her little nymph friend got on with her minions so well. She knew they would… and since the little naiad never saw much company it was nice to see her bonding with other nymph-girls. Ok, so the Sirens were former naiads that had been punished by Aphrodite for refusing to bend to her will but they were still nymphs at heart..

When Persephone turned back to the pansies she gasped at the sight of a new plant that had not been sat there only a few moments before. The stem was a thick green stalk with at least a dozen little flowers on it's head. It was so captivating with it's deep indigo colour, lush full petals and shimmering pale yellow centres. Persephone admired the plant but she was wary of it… after all, plants did not just appear from nowhere.

* * *

A few feet away from where the white-skinned goddess was sprawled out amongst the flowers Hades smirked as she widened her big, beautiful green eyes in surprise at the deep indigo flower he had sent her. It had been tricky to pull off as the fiery god had to find a nature deity to help him out and with both his wife and mother-in-law instantly eliminated from the help list he only had two choices: Rhea or Gaia. Unable to face the Titaness of Fertility and Mother of the Gods, because doing so would open a whole lotta touchy issues with her being his birth mother, Hades decided that Gaia was the safer option. Besides, Mother Earth had always had a soft-spot for a little romance… which meant he'd told a little white lie to keep Gaia sweet but she'd forgive him in time.

The Lord of the Underworld was completely invisible and leaning against one of the trees on the edge of the grasslands, he did not wish his wife or any of her company to spot him and ruin the whole surprise. There was a slight crease on his invisible brow as he watched his wife with the gift that Gaia had sprouted for him. It was a dark narcissus, much like the one that Homer had described in his stupid hymn… the idea being that when Persephone picked the narcissus Hades would sweep her off her two perfectly formed little feet and cart her off to the Underworld before she realized what was happening to her..

He watched her gaze unsurely at this plant for a moment, completely mesmerized by it… but suspicious too. However Hades was confident that this flower could seduce his wife, if there was one thing Persephone liked it was unusual plants… and it was certainly that. This was some monster of a plant and it's perfume was so seductively sweet, just what he needed to entice his little wifeykins into picking the plant.

_Pick it… Pick it…_ Hades silently willed his wife as he watched her extend a dainty little hand and stoke the flower petals lovingly, feeling how silky soft the petals were and a petite cherry smile curved her perfectly shaped lips…

…As her fingers moved slowly over the dozen little flower heads Persephone wondered who had sent her this magnificent jewel. She didn't think it was her mother, she and Demeter had completely different tastes in blooms and when her mother sent her a flower it was usually brightly coloured and overpoweringly perfumed… but this wasn't. Whoever had sent this bloom clearly knew what kind of flowers she liked. Her first thought was Hades but she quickly dismissed that theory. Sure, he couldn't grow flowers himself he'd need help with that but since today was the first of April Persephone had a feeling that her fiery husband would be too busy at home venting over the significance of today. Today was the pinnacle of the Roman Cerelia Celebrations, when their love story was retold in the form of mortals playing pranks on each other. Persephone wrinkled her nose at this… Romans were so weird. They were the only ones who still celebrated the wintry holiday of Saturnalia, a holiday dedicated to the teachings of Cronos… Persephone suspected that the reason they celebrated the holiday in December was so that Zeus, or Jupiter as he was known to them, wouldn't find out about it.

Persephone pondered over who could have sent the flower then after a moment her smile widened. There was only one person who would send her a flower like this.. her grandmother. Although Rhea loved all her dozens of grandchildren she had always adored Persephone the most… probably because the young Queen of the Underworld reminded the Titaness of Fertility so much of herself, even Persephone's relationship with Demeter was just the way hers and Gaia's used to be.

Persephone smiled sadly at the flower now. She hadn't seen her grandmother since the Titaness had retired to Asia Minor after the fiasco at Pelus and Thetis' wedding. Rhea had left Olympus because of the sniping and squabbling, it was too much for her and she just craved the peace and quiet.. But every time Rhea found an interesting flower she thought her favourite granddaughter might like, she sent it to her… perhaps this was just another gift from her…

…Hades watched the changes in the face of his wife as she absent-mindedly stroked the flower before her. The god's brow furrowed in concern as his young wife's smile suddenly saddened slightly at the narcissus, for a moment he was worried that the flower had brought on yet another painful memory… then the moment passed and her smile widened as the goddess looked fondly at the flower once more. Her fingers were now stroking it's stem and her head tilted to the left slightly, almost as though the goddess was in two minds whether or not to pick it.

_Just pick the dam flower already…_ The fiery god tried his best to control his burning frustration at Persephone's reluctance to pick the flower.. But it was hard, especially since he was running on the clock so to speak.. He only had one day to pull of this little stunt and he certainly didn't plan on wasting it standing invisible in an open field while perving on his wife… At this point Persephone flicked her hair back revealing more of her lovely assets to him. Hades blinked then smiled to himself… not that he was going to complain about the perving part.

Then it happened with a small… _snap_…

Persephone plucked the narcissus and brought the flower up to her nose, closing her wide green eyes as she took in the heavenly pollen with a far off dreamy look as her eyes opened lazily.

Hades smirked widely, flashing his white fangs…

_Showtime!_

* * *

The fiery Lord of the Underworld shot forward in a billow of black smoke, a trick Hades had learnt from Erebus but of course he moved in smoke rather than dense shadow like his father. The second the fiery god turned into a billowing mass of smoke, he dropped his invisibility and propelled forwards towards the young Queen of the Underworld.

…Persephone snapped out of her dreamy state at the sound of the girly screaming but the goddess didn't have to swivel around to see what was wrong.. The second she lifted her blonde head Persephone spotted the large mass of black smoke shooting towards her. The young Queen of the Underworld barely had time to open her eyes wide in shock and utter a small 'eep' of surprise before the smoke enveloped her and she felt an almost solid part of dense smoke curl her against what felt like a broad well-toned chest.

_Oh this isn't happening.. this really isn't happening.. _Persephone's denial reflex automatically kicked in as the goddess squeezed her eyes tight shut and she stiffened against the entity holding her tight. It was just her flaming luck that some sick warped-entity with nothing better to waste it's time on would kidnap her on April Fool's Day!

…The Sirens had spotted the strange black smoky cloud first as it swept forward towards their mistress but as they screamed a warning out to her it engulfed her totally. At the sound of the former-nymphs terrified squeals Cyane swivelled her head around just in time to see her best friend get swept up inside a great swirling black mass. The young blue-tinted naiad frowned and balled her fists furiously at it. How dare some-being just come into _her_ home uninvited and try to kidnap _her_ best friend.. did they really think she was just going to sit back and let them take her?

Clearly they didn't know Cyane very well.. Anybody who _truly _knew the blue naiad would know that she was fiercely loyal to Persephone, especially after the 'Minthe incident' four years ago when the green-haired naiad had tried to steal Hades away from the young Queen of the Underworld. Cyane would never betray Persephone like that, she valued their friendship too much.

As the strange entity closed in on the little naiad she held up a hand out in front of her, keeping a firm face… this intruder would not get away with trying to kidnap her best friend.

'You can't take her!' The little blue naiad cried out angrily floating above the surface of Lake Pergus, as Cyane lifted her hand up into a halting position the water from the lake below her rose upwards to form a barrier.

The large black smoking mass that had snatched the little naiad's best friend didn't even seem remotely daunted by her move. As it hurtled towards a large scaly beast materialised out of the heavy black smoke which began to move in tendrils forming two great spinning wheels with spiky sharp edges. As the front of a vicious-looking black chariot materialised out of the smoke it smashed through Cyane's watery obstruction, shattering it back into free-flowing water. The little naiad instantly found herself swept up into a huge gulf as a tidal wave of water crashed down, dragging the little nymph with it.

Before the three Sirens could even think about spreading their wings to help their mistress, not that they had any clue how, the chariot had disappeared over the treetops taking with it the Goddess of Life. As the surface of the water calmed back down to it's usual tranquil self Cyane resurfaced from the lake and pushed herself up onto the grassy bank.

'Oh..' Raidne sounded in frustration, stamping her little foot huffily. '-what are we supposed to do now?' She whined like a moody little child.

'We should go to Master Hades..' Molpe started but Tele cut her off instantly.

'And say what?' The eldest Siren sister snapped before putting on a mock-cheery persona. 'Oh hi boss, you know how we were supposed to be watching your wife? Well some entity came along and swiped her from right underneath our noses..'

'He's gonna flip his lid!' Raidne squealed still venting her aggravation.

'We've gotta do something!' Molpe sounded almost hysterically.

'Well what do you suggest..' Tele frowned folding her arms irritably.

'You should call Demeter..' Cyane sounded instantly causing all three Sirens to swivel around to the resident naiad. 'She'll know what to do..' All three Sirens blinked at her confused.

'But, what about you..' Molpe sounded confused.

'I..' Cyane sounded cheerfully standing up and preparing to dive into her lake. '-am going to see if I can find out any leads on who snatched Persephone..' The little naiad then somersaulted into and vanished into a stream of water that poured into Lake Pergus.

'Is it me..' Tele said half-amused half-irritated. '-or is she one bossy naiad?'

'She's gotta point though..' Raidne shrugged seeing reason behind Cyane's logic.

'Alright, alright..' Tele sounded reluctantly then held her hands out to her sisters. '-let's just summon her.' Both Molpe and Raidne gripped her sister's hands and the three of them chanted as one,

'_Mother Nature hear our plea, come to us wherever you may be.._' The next second a huge orange plant bloomed out of the ground and as the petals peeled back it revealed the great green-skinned mother of Persephone. She was sitting under a heat lamp with rollers tightly wound in her shoulder length blonde hair and reading a copy of _Gardener's Weekly_. Demeter blinked before looking up to see her daughter's minions.

'Girls..' She uttered confused putting down her magazine then taking in their apprehensive faces. '-what's wrong?' Demeter sounded concerned.

* * *

Once Persephone had gotten over her shock the young goddess became aware of two things. The first was the squealing of her terrified minions who were obviously freaking out about her abduction, and the second thing she noticed was how unafraid of this whole issue she was. It was strange, she had been wrenched from her home, swept up into a chariot that had materialised out of nothing by something she was yet to identify and she wasn't even scared… what was wrong with her? It was for this reason that the young Queen of the Underworld didn't fight her captor as their was something very familiar about him… and about this whole kidnapping thing, it was like she had heard of it somewhere before…

Persephone was still clinging to the robes of her captor's chest and she was still clutching the dark narcissus in her fingers. She could still smell it's sweet perfume even though she could smell the aftershave her captor too. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on it. It smelt so familiar… just like..

…_Old Spice!_

The Queen of the Underworld's pretty green eyes suddenly snapped open and she blinked as she recognised the gloomy dark surroundings… In that moment Persephone suddenly knew who had snatched her away from Lake Pergus.

'_Hades!_'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, I'm not in any particular rush to finish this story… as long as it's done before April the first I'm happy and if it inspires some people to go out and pull off a totally awesome April Fools Day prank then that's a bonus! ;p_

_Ok, Cyane was a little nymph that was supposed to have stood up to Hades and tried to stop him from snatching Persephone but failed. I wasn't very keen on the idea of Hades killing her off like in actual myth, not only because Disney have a tendency to skirt around death but also because I felt that having Hades kill off his wife's best friend wouldn't help to win his wife over after kidnapping her for a prank._

_Finally, many different countries have different views on how long the pranking on April Fools Day should last (yup, I've done my research..) here in the U.K and a few other countries only prank up until midday, then after that you're the fool but others such as Italy and the U.S prank all day and since this is a holiday that originally started in Rome (the only solid fact that anybody seems to agree on) I'm going by Italy's view on this._

_Tune in next time… I have noticed a slump in reviews to my stories recently and although I usually go by status figures rather than the number of reviews I can't help but be concerned.. I do hope it means that people are just too lazy to comment and not because they don't want to. _

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	5. The Hitch with Already being Hitched

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

* * *

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Five:****The Hitch with Already being Hitched..**

Demeter's cornflower blue eyes widened in shock as the three Sirens spoke in sync, spinning a tale that sounded like something Homer could have written. Persephone was kidnapped by an entity in a black smoking chariot that vanished into nothing. The green-skinned Nature Goddess frowned at the girls as their story didn't make sense, the only being she knew of this description was Erebus and her little Cora was his daughter-in-law.

'Are you sure about this girls..' Demeter shook her head that was still stacked with rollers.

'Yes..' Tele cried out as her two sisters looked worried. '-we have to find her.'

'And your sure that it wasn't Hades..' The Nature Goddess sounded, still trying to get her head around the particulars of this far-fetched story.

'No..' The Sirens all squealed in one harmony filled tone of shock. '-the boss would've told us if he was coming to surprise her!'

'He always tells us stuff like that..' Raidne sounded in an anxious tone looking really worried.

'Always..' Molpe added in a panicky voice.

'Ok, ok..' Demeter said in a soothing voice trying to calm the three nymph-girls down. '-we have to remain calm ladies..' The Sirens all took a deep cleansing breath before the goddess continued. '-now I'm sure we can find my daughter if we all put our minds together.'

'Should we inform the other gods?' Tele asked optimistically.

'No..' Demeter frowned deeply. '-they weren't that helpful the first time this happened..' She had never really gotten over how unhelpful her fellow deities had been when she had been trying to rescue her daughter from Hades, and even though the Nature Goddess was fine with his marriage to Persephone now the treatment she had received from her fellows still stung.

'What about Master Hades..' Raidne suggested. 'Should we tell him about this?'

'Oh goodness no!' Demeter sounded appalled by the very thought. 'He'll make such a scene!' She then sighed, remembering the fuss her fiery son-in-law had created because of that stupid play depicting what Homer _thought _had happened between him and her little Cora. The green-skinned goddess then shuddered… _Oh just wait until he finds out about the Cerelia Celebrations in Rome, he'll be throwing a flaming hissy for weeks…_

'I know Mother Nature but surely our mistress' husband has a right to know what is going on..' Molpe sounded gently.

'No..' Demeter sounded smiling. '-as long as we find Persephone before the time she usually heads home to the Underworld at then everything will be hunky-dory and Hades doesn't need to know what happened..'

'Are you sure?' The Sirens all chorused as one, not really sure if this was a wise move.

'Of course, of course..' Demeter waved a little green hand vaguely. '-Hades has enough on his plate without this..'

A few thousand feet below Gaia's surface Demeter had no idea just how right she was…

* * *

'_Have you completely lost your mind?_' Persephone screeched at the top of her voice causing the walls in the throne room to judder violently. The goddess had been screaming ever since she had discovered who her 'captor' really was. '_What were you thinking?_'

'Yeesh Sephy..' Hades sounded wiggling a finger in his ear, he could swear he was going deaf. '-I dunno what your kvetchin' at, your always wantin' us do more stuff together..'

'Yeh..' Persephone groaned exasperated, slapping her head irritated by his logic. '-I meant go for a picnic in the Elysian Fields or ruin some mortals pathetic lives, _not plot a fake kidnapping for your own entertainment!_' Hades winced as his wife screamed the last part causing the walls to quake again.

'Whoa, whoa..' Hades sounded the moment Persephone paused for breath. '-I did _not_ do this for mere entertainment babe-'

'_Oh really?_' The goddess screeched, her dainty white hands returned to her hips angrily. '_Then what about my job?_' Persephone's eyes narrowed into green slits of irritation. She couldn't just up and leave her post, she was the Goddess of Life and her duties required her to be on the surface at this time of year.

'Seph, Seph, Seph.. baby..' The fiery god smirked. '-your only gonna be down here for the rest of today, the mortals can live without ya for that long.'

'I don't ca-_What!_' Persephone's hair flared into yellow flames as she quickly realised what her husband was implying. '_Whadda you mean I'm gonna be here for the rest of today?_' Hades sighed heavily… Oh boy, if she was mad now she was going to be furious when she found out what he had done to prevent her from going off to the surface.

'Well, err.. heh..' The fiery god rubbed the back of his flaming head nervously as his wife pouted impatiently at him. '-y'see Sephy..' Hades cursed inwardly at how difficult it was to tell Persephone she was trapped here so he can irritate Zeus by getting people to celebrate April Fools Day. '-I can't letcha go back up today..'

'Oh.' Persephone sounded in a slightly cool tone, one brow arched in a questioning look. 'And why not?' Her voice was calm and collected but inside she knew that she was not going to like the answer.

'Because I kinda..' Hades sighed before wincing as he finished. '-grounded ya..'

'You can't ground me!' Persephone snapped out furiously at her husband. It was ridiculous… utterly insane, like a punishment her mother would have thought up. 'I have a job to do and _you_ can't stop me from doing it!' She declared crossly. She then swirled out into a swirl of white orbs, intending to return to Lake Pergus and fume in peace… unfortunately when the disembodied swirl of orbs reached the roof of the Underworld they bounced off as though some unseen barrier was halting the goddess from materializing on the surface. Persephone was so shocked by this that she rematerialised mid-fall and the young goddess landed on her backside on the ground next to her husband. Hades placed a large greyish-blue hand over his mouth trying very hard not to snicker at his wife who looked about two seconds away from exploding.

'Heh, sorry babe..' Hades sounded smirking with badly repressed amusement. '-but you ain't goin' nowhere until tomorrow..'

'You can't do this!' Persephone snarled hoisting herself to her feet and straightening up to her husband, having to get on her tip-toes just to come level with his chin.

'I think you'll find I just did..' Hades folded his arms still smirking smugly. Persephone fumed at her husband's self-satisfied face.

'And what about my mother?' Persephone scowled.

'What about her?' Hades said in an unconcerned tone.

'Does she at _least_ know what's going on?' Persephone asked firmly, her hands on her hips again.

'Pfft.. _no_..' Hades snorted in an irritable tone, wondering how Demeter always managed to wind up worming her way into every argument. The old hippie was like an unwanted spirit haunting his marriage.

'_You didn't tell my mother!_' Persephone sounded appalled, glaring at her husband fiercely.

'Hey re-lax sweet-cheeks..' Hades spoke in a soothing voice. '-it's all part of my plan..'

'What plan?' Persephone lanced her husband a suspicious gaze, what was he up to now?

'My plan for April Fools Day..' Hades flashed his wife a wide grin causing the young goddess to blink confused. April Fools Day? It took a moment for the young goddess to realise what this meant..

'Wait..' She sounded unsurely, trying to get her head around the truth. '-you know about the Cerelia Celebrations?' This was news to her as the moment Hades ever heard of anything to do with holiday's based on Homer's Hymn he would start moaning and smouldering with fury that the bard who had won-over yet another crowd of people with his ridiculous story.

'Sure do baby..' Hades sounded still flashing his wife that serpentine leer. '-and once I learnt how the holiday came about I was able to concoct a fool-proof scheme on how to bring it to Greece..' Hades made a scroll appear out of a puff of smoke then waved it in his wife's face. Persephone's arms tightened against her chest as her green eyes narrowed again.

'I'm listening..' The young goddess sounded in a 'this better be good' tone of voice.

'It's quite simple really..' The fiery god spoke in a light tone then pausing to bask in his own brilliance. '-all I gotta do is send Demeter on a _little_ fool's errand then utter the words 'April Fool's before the day is out. Heh, Bolt Boy's gonna plotz when his popularity plummets..' Hades' gloating smile was only visible for a few seconds before Persephone's icy voice brought him back to reality harder than one of Zeus' bolts ever could.

'_Excuse me.._' The young Queen of the Underworld could not believe what she was hearing. '-let me get this straight.. you drag me away from my work and cause my mother unnecessary stress _just_ so you can annoy Zeus?' She sounded in a tone of disbelief.

'Uh, yup… that's about the size of it..' Hades' smirk returned at his wife's words, sure it was petty but he'd never been one to turn down the chance to humiliate Zeus.

'Hades..' Persephone practically choked on her own annoyance as it bubbled under her skin. '-your.. _unbelievable!_'

'I know..' The fiery god responded pretending not to notice her livid features. '-but that's what ya love about me..' The god wiggled his eyebrows slyly at his wife who, for once, looked less than impressed by it. Hades merely smirked wider at her resistance to succumb to his charm, he loved it when she played hard to get..

'Have I ever told ya your sexy when your mad?' The fiery god purred in a low throaty growl, slipping an arm around Persephone's waist and reeling her into him, he then lent towards her pouting his lips for a kiss. The next second Hades winced in pain as his wife's knee made contact with an incredibly sensitive area, eyes watering in both shock and pain Hades clutched his wounded pride and dropped to his knees looking up at his wife confused.

'Geez…' He grimaced tenderly causing a slight smirk of amusement to twitch Persephone's lips. '-I thought since you were gonna be here a while we could work on that baby ya want..' The Queen of the Underworld rolled her eyes at her husband's words before snorting in disgust at the idea.

'Well forgive me Hades-' Persephone sounded in a lofty voice. '-but I'm not really in the _mood_ right now..' The white-skinned goddess swivelled on her heels and marched out of the throne room leaving her husband still knelt on the ground with his hands between his legs.

'Ha-how 'bout a rain-check then?' He uttered grimacing in discomfort as his moody wife disappeared down the long dark hallway still fuming about what he'd done. When she was out of sight Hades sighed heavily with a slight smirk as he shook his flaming head. 'Oy… whatta woman..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual but I couldn't really write more without giving away the next chapter. I hope everybody liked how Seph reacted to being 'kidnapped', I know I did! I was laughing when I wrote it! XD_

_Ok now I've pointed out before that it seems strange to write a Hades/Persephone abduction fic after already establishing how the couple met and married but at least it's an original idea.. the inspiration for following on P.o.P with this fic actually came from the myths themselves. The very early versions of Hades and Persephone state that Hades actually seduced the young goddess before taking her back to the Underworld but Demeter, who didn't approve of this union, decided to starve the mortals until her daughter was returned to her… blah, blah, blah you guys can work out the rest. The abduction versions came afterwards when stories of suffering and self-sacrifice were considered vogue… other examples from this trend are Cupid/Psyche and Adonis._

_I received a review for P.o.P that I'd just like to clarify, although I don't mind my story being compared to fics from the Greek Myth section, I don't think it's fair to say it's the same as them since I am in a separate section.. My story is based more on the Hercules film and series while trying to twist some real Greek myths into it to make it seem more real, anything that has the same idea to anybody else's fic is purely coincidental… if I know that a plotline to mine is dangerously close to an idea that somebody else has written I will check my work against their's to make sure it's different.. (Nov Oradot, I'm having to do this at the min in DHL with your fic TRCC because I know it's very similar but I promise the outcome is different..)._

_Please review as they mean a lot to me…_

_Lots of Love… Ditzy X_


	6. Despeately Seeking Sincerity

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

* * *

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Six:****Desperately Seeking Sincerity**

'Any sign of her?' Demeter sounded as the Sirens returned from their thorough search for their mistress. It was dusk now and almost the point when Persephone would be getting ready to return to the underworld for the night.

'No, not even a whisper of her..' Tele sounded in a sad voice causing the Goddess of Nature to sigh heavily.

'And nobody has heard back from Cyane?' The green-skinned goddess asked and Tele, Raidne and Molpe shook their heads firmly in unison.

'Maybe Apollo saw something?' Raidne sounded pointing up to the sun chariot that was slowly descending to it's nocturnal resting place. Demeter blinked at this suggestion then smiled widely at the Sirens.

'Of course..' The goddess said in a soft voice. '-he's bound to have seen something, I'll go talk to him..' She wiggled her fingers and her large orange tulip grew immediately out of the ground. She then instantly got inside and the petals curled back up and the flower retreated back into the ground.

* * *

Cyane had been searching non-stop for her best friend for some time on the surface when a sudden thought occurred to her. The large shadowy thing that had kidnapped Persephone didn't look as though it belonged to the surface world, it looked as though it belonged under the surface. But if it did belong underground then it was possible that the goddess had been hauled back down there. If that was the case then maybe it would be wise to inform Hades that his wife was missing, just incase somebody was planning to use her as leverage against him.

The tiny water naiad then dived downwards, grateful that she was on friendly terms with Styx who was a former naiad herself. It took Cyane a little while to find a way down into the Underworld and as she approached the opening she found herself face to face with Styx. The ghostly naiad eyed Cyane before speaking in bubbling clicks, being a nymph at heart Styx spoke it as a first language.

'What brings you down to my watery domain..' She blubbed eyeing Cyane curiously through her deep indigo eyes, flicking back her translucent hair.

'I wish to speak to Hades..' Cyane replied, her voice was slightly nervous. '-I bring news of great importance..' For a long moment the ghostly naiad considered this before nodding slowly and pointing down her river.

'Just follow the current down, it'll lead you straight to Hades..' She spoke softly then added as an afterthought. '-and don't mind the traffic, it's actually pretty light this time of year.' She waved the little blue naiad off before disappearing back into her river. Cyane sighed with relief, she always felt a little frightened when she was around Styx as the naiad was technically dead and sometimes she wasn't very nice to those who came down to her river. The little blue-haired naiad then quickly set off again and soon saw what Styx meant by 'traffic' as she turned into the main section of the river. The whole river was full of souls who were travelling downstream, meandering at their own pace sometimes drifting in and out of each other. None of them appeared to take any notice of Cyane as she swiftly nipped in and out of these souls, with her pale blue skin and dark blue hair they probably assumed she was dead too. At one point on her trip down the Styx' river Cyane noticed the rear of a long thin boat travelling back up stream above her, it's long black oar moving steadily in and out of the water. She dodged it easily with a sideways somersault when the oar came into her swim-path and Cyane gazed in amazement as it went start through a soul who didn't seem to care.

When the little naiad finally surfaced she found that she had swam a little too far downstream as the black jetty was a few feet back the way. Cyane noticed two creatures with sharp horns and little claws with clipboards situated by the docks, one was skinny and a pale shade of bluish-green the other was chubby and pink. The little naiad assumed that this rather odd pair of beings must be 'Pain' and 'Panic', Hades' minions that Persephone had told her about. Deciding that she would go and introduce herself to these two the little naiad began walking back up towards them. However as Cyane drew close enough to hear what the pair were saying she stopped.

'-I can't believe Hades didn't want us to help him with the scheme!' The pink imp snarled irritably.

'Forget it Pain..' The green one rolled his big eyes irritably. '-at least the boss brought her down without getting caught didn't he?'

'Yeh, but it would have been nice to be a part of it..' Pain sounded sulkily.

'Ahh c'mon..' The green imp nudged his partner playfully. '-he did us a favour, at least Miss Persephone's not ticked off with us!'

'Hey yeh..' The pink imp suddenly sounded cheerfully. '-I never thought of it like that..' There was a brief pause as the pair scribbled down something on their clipboards.

'Hey Panic.' The pink one sounded again. '-whadda ya say to a couple of pomegranate smoothies, I'm buyin'..'

'Sounds good to me..' The green imp replied cheerfully and they wandered off and out of sight.

Cyane, who was still standing by the river, was gob smacked by what she had just heard. Persephone was here? Which meant that the strange shadowy entity that she had tried to stop must have been.. _Hades_. But why would he want to fake a kidnapping of his own wife? The little naiad decided that she needed to know more… she needed to find Persephone.

* * *

The Goddess of Life gave made an irritable noise as she paced the Pool of Lethe trying to work off some of her annoyance. _Lousy, stupid husband… _Persephone kicked out at a small cluster of asphodels… _the jerk could have at least warned her he was coming.._ The young goddess watched as the lily-like gloomy pink plants repaired themselves and straightened once more before she slumped down onto the garden bench behind her. Sometimes Persephone was convinced that her husband did these kind of things just to infuriate her. Did he really not trust her enough to tell her his schemes? Even after six years of marriage he was still hiding things from her… had she not proved that she was trustworthy?

'Oh Hades..' Persephone sounded in a mournful tone to herself while laying back on the bench. '-why do you always have to be so difficult?'

'Persephone?' A voice sounded in a hissing whisper making the goddess roll over onto her stomach and look in the direction it had come from.

'Who's there?' The goddess sounded in a wary tone.

'It's me..' A little blue naiad poked her head out of a nearby bush.

'Cyane?' Persephone blinked recognising her instantly. 'What are you doing her? If my husband sees you he'll get fired up!' The goddess hissed in a panicky tone.

'I'm looking for you Seph..' The Cyane sounded pleased to see her. '-your mom is totally freaking out.' Persephone sighed and shrugged.

'Yeh, I figured she would..' The goddess replied in a grim tone rolling her eyes in a 'what else is new' manner.

'Look, I overheard those two imps talking, they said Hades grabbed you.. is it true?' Cyane cocked her head curiously.

'Unfortunately..' Persephone sounded in a low voice as she was still annoyed about it.

'But why would he do that?' Cyane asked confused.

'Because it's his idea of a sick April Fool's joke..' Persephone replied irritably. '-and I can't orb outta here until it's over..'

'April Fool's..' Cyane frowned before it switched back to bewilderment. '-he _knows_ about that!' She exclaimed in shock.

'Apparently so..' Persephone sighed heavily again, supporting her head in her hands. '-look Cya just do me a favour and give my girls the heads up ok?' She sounded almost bored.

'But what about your mom?' Cyane replied in a questioning tone.

'If I know my mother..' Persephone sounded while checking the time on the shadow-dial which was not far from where she was sprawled out. '-she's probably up badgering Apollo by now..'

'_What!_ Oh my days I better get back before she finds out the truth..' The little naiad squealed out in surprise before she disappeared into dozens of tiny droplets of water.

'Heh, good luck..' Persephone intoned dryly before she heard another voice, this time it came from somewhere on the other side of the Lethe Grove.

'Oh _Sephykins_..'

'Uh..' Persephone recognised the deep tones of her husband's voice. '-_now_ what does he want?' She drawled heavily dropping her head on the bench.

* * *

When Cyane appeared back on Sicily only the Sirens were waiting for her.

'Where's Demeter?' The little blue naiad sounded worried.

'Duh, up talkin' to Apollo..' Molpe sounded, her upward affection at the end coming off slightly sarcastic.

'Where else would she be?' Raidne chipped in as though it were obvious.

'So where have you been?' Tele asked raising her brow at the naiad intrigued.

'With Persephone..' Cyane explained. '-she's in the Underworld, this is all just some stupid April Fool's joke organized by Hades..' All three Siren's blinked confused by this before repeating as one in voices of shock and horror.

'_Master Hades did this!_'

* * *

Apollo really didn't need this today. He had just had a nice relaxing day out cruising with Helios and had returned home to find an irritated Demeter waiting for him.

'Who took her!' The green-skinned goddess practically bellowed at him making Apollo wince. By Zeus this woman was louder than Gaia.

'Who took who?' Apollo replied in a delicate tone… wrong thing to say.

'Don't play dumb with me!' Demeter screeched out grabbing him by the ear and hauling him down to her level. Apollo hissed in anguish as she twisted his ear slightly. 'You see everything on your travels now who ran off with my little Cora!'

'I didn't see!' Apollo squealed out in an ungodly girlish tone. 'I Swear by the Styx I didn't see!'

'I did..' A second male voice sounded in a deep calm tone which caused Demeter to let go of Apollo stunned and the God of Music rubbed his sore ear. Both deities eyes instantly swivelled around to the glowing sun which immediately brightened before transforming into it's godly form, Helios.

The original Sun God was smiling serenely at the Goddess of Nature who seemed to have lost her voice as it was a rarity for any of them to see Helios in this form. His hair was glowing as brightly as his sunrays, his skin was pale yellow and almost white and his eyes were a bright piercing blue.

'Yu-you did?' Demeter finally spoke looking hopeful.

'Of course..' Helios nodded just as coolly as his smile. '-but I'm afraid you won't like my answer..'

'What do you mean?' Demeter asked feeling her voice struggle to articulate the words as dread filled up inside her.

'Hades took her..' Helios replied gently.

'What?' The Goddess of Nature sounded in disbelief.

'That doesn't make sense..' Apollo spoke looking sceptically at the older Sun God. '-why would Hades kidnap his own wife?'

'No, no, no..' Demeter shook her head making her cornflower crown rustle. '-that can't be right, the girls said it was a shadowy entity that took Persephone.'

'It was..' Helios replied smoothly. '-but he was raised by Erebus, wasn't he? Is it not possible that the God of Shadows taught him a few tricks of his own?' The Sun God ignored Demeter who was silently fuming at this new information… Ooh, just wait until she got her mitts on that miserable excuse for a god! He then turned to Apollo who was edging away from the furious Goddess of Nature, the next second her orange tulip appeared out of the cloud and swallowed her whole and disappeared again.

'And as for your question as to why Apollo, what date is it today?' Helios sounded as though nothing had happened. The purple-skinned god blinked at the spot where Demeter had been only moments before then turned back around to Helios who was still smiling.

'It's uh… April the first..' He sounded in a rather dazed tone.

'Exactly..' Helios replied as realisation of the day's significance hit Apollo.

'Ohh..' The God of Music sounded frowning. '-now I see why he did it.'

'I thought you might..' Helios smirked amused.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, there's only a couple of chapters left to write as like G.W.I, A.A.F.E will only have eight chapters in it. This story was only written in the hopes of giving my readers new appreciation for April Fool's Day and if anybody does think about playing a prank I'd love to hear about it.._

_Ok a few new characters are introduced in this chapter, firstly Styx who appears once in the series as a massive watery head in Hercules and the River Styx (also the episode that Hades warbles 'My Town' in).. I wasn't crazy about her look in this. Although myth says she's a goddess she comes across as more of a naiad. I changed her into a dead nymph because if she really was an underworld river being it would make sense that she's dead and there's no story that states she goes above ground._

_Secondly, Apollo and Helios were often confused but Helios was a name given to the sun itself which was why I made him change from the sun into a god. Although the older Sun God's description (as big myth buffs like myself might notice) is described in my story using the looks that were generally attributed to Apollo. Enjoy XP_

_Stay tuned peeps… and don't forget to review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	7. The Fury within Mother Nature

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

* * *

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Seven:****The Fury within Mother Nature**

Hades wandered the Grove of Lethe, desperately praying to some unknown force in the cosmos that the few hours he had left Persephone for was enough time for her to cool off… she had been pretty steamed about the whole lock-down thing. As the fiery god rounded the corner he found his pretty white-skinned wife sitting on the long dark stony garden bench. He instantly took the deep-set scowl twisted across her face and the tightness of her folded arms as a sign.. he was still in the Cerberus-house..

That was it, there was only one thing left to do… and he hadn't done it since the 'Minthe incident'. Hades just wanted to sigh wearily but he refrained from doing so incase his wife was still in a violent mood, his pride was not ready for another kick just yet.

'C'mon baby..' He practically whined as he dropped to his knees in front of her, glad that there were no imps around. If any of those pathetic schlubs saw him mooching to his little wifeykins his rep as a cruel dictator was shot.

One of Persephone's eyebrows shot up intrigued by her husband and her cherry lips pursed almost curious to see where he was going with his pleading.

'-ya can't stay mad with me for eternity..' The fiery god sounded before faltering slightly at the look that crossed his wife's face at this point. 'Well, ok… maybe ya could but that's not the point-'

'Your rambling.' Persephone interrupted her husband and the fiery god blinked before smirking at his wife's unanticipated words.

'Heh, yeh…' Hades shrugged exaggeratedly. '-I'll give ya that one..' The fiery god inwardly groaned knowing full well that there were only two words in the cosmos that would make his wife forgive him, but for some reason uttering these two words always made him feel so.. _tainted_.

Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

'Look Seph..' Hades sounded decisively, deciding to just bite the bolt and say it. 'I'm sorry..'

Persephone's eyes widened at the words that had just forcefully burst from his lips. If the goddess hadn't seen his lips move she'd have never believed that he had just said them… and the emotion that had come with it, along with that instant feeling of remorse that emulated from his being, told her that despite his directness her flame-haired husband meant it.

'Hades..' Persephone spoke after a few moments of silence, causing her husband's wide yellow eyes to roll up from the ground. The young goddess tried to bury the instant need to forgive him, she needed to know something before she could truly kiss and make up. '-do you even know what your apologising for?'

Hades blinked stunned, completely thrown by his wife's words.

'Whadda ya think I am? An imp?' Hades flashed his wife a wide smirk and using his usual brand of sardonic humour in an attempt to break the tension… unfortunately it didn't work. Persephone merely frowned deeper at him.

'Oy vey..' Hades sighed feeling like a naughty little godling. '-ok babe, I'm sorry about snatchin' ya from Lake Pergus and placing the lock-down on ya.'

'That's not why I'm upset with you..' Persephone sounded disappointed, frustrated by the fact that her husband had completely missed the point.

'It isn't?' Hades responded in amazement.

'_No_..' Persephone tried to keep the whine out of her voice. '-sweetie, I don't care about the stupid prank! I'm upset because you didn't tell me about it..' The young goddess suddenly looked tearful. 'Don't you trust me?' Her voice almost broke.

'Seph..' Hades spoke softly trying to squash the feelings of guilt. He cupped her chin stopping her from tilting her head away. '-I do trust ya… it's just I needed a genuine reaction outta ya..'

'So you chose not to tell me.' Persephone snorted in disgust, her eyes rolling upwards.

'Baby..' Hades' voice pleaded as he gripped her hands tightly. '-I _wanted_ to tell ya, honest I did! But do ya really think that Demeter woulda bought it if I had?' He sounded imploringly.

Persephone murmured unsurely, batting the idea around in her head then reluctantly she sighed, shaking her head. Her mother was an incredibly sharp goddess..

'No..' She sounded half-heartedly causing her husband to smile a little, gratified by the fact that his wife saw his reasoning.

'Sephykins, I regret not tellin' ya about the prank and I am so sorry that I disregarded your feelin's but I need ya on my team for the last hurdle of this prank..' Hades then dropped his head into her lap and added in a low voice. '-don't make me face your mother alone..'

Persephone smirked slightly amused by her husband's words. There was in no doubt that. Demeter was going to be furious when she found out who had _really_ 'kidnapped' her daughter. The Goddess of Nature was usually sweet and good-natured but the moment one of her children was in trouble the green-skinned deity became as vicious as a Fury.

Hades was going to be in a lot of trouble… that was for sure.

And the only one who could soothe the goddess' rage was Persephone.

The white-skinned goddess groaned unsurely before her trembling white fingers stretched forwards and buried themselves into her husband's thick full blue flames, stroking the dome of his rounded cranium gently.

'It's ok sweetie..' Persephone's soft girly voice sounded gently. '-I wouldn't let you face mother alone-' Hades raised his head slightly and looked at the little smirk on his wife's amused face. '-I'm not _that_ cruel..' The fiery god returned the smirk and laughed weakly at her words.

'Heh, thank the Fates for that..' Hades drawled as his smirk widened.

'So..' Persephone spoke in a soft purr and seizing her husband by the front of his chiton, feeling that familiar fluttering in her chest. '-how about that rein-check?'

'Aye-chi-ba-ba, come to Hades baby..' The fiery god's eyes narrowed wickedly as he gripped his wife by her waist and hauling her into a rough, bruising kiss.

They hadn't locked lips for more than a few seconds before a furious voice sounded causing them to jump apart startled.

'_Hades!_'

* * *

'Demeter… my succulent little sunflower-' Hades oozed shamelessly as his mother-in-law emerged out of her bright orange tulip. The Goddess of Nature glared at the fiery god completely ignoring her daughter who was looking worried.

'Oh don't you even try to charm me you..' The green-skinned goddess paused trying to think up an insult. '-_you_ _lecherous_ _brute!_'

'_Mother!_' Persephone sounded scandalized by her mother's words.

'Ouch..' Hades added, clutching his chest in mock-offence before uttering to his wife. '-who let the Fury out, huh?'

'How _dare_ you-' Demeter was practically shaking as her rage towards Hades boiled. '-just _snatch_ my daughter away from her surface duties in the _middle_ of spring!' Persephone winced, recognising her mother as she switched to full ranting mode. '_Just because she is now considered an Underworld deity, it doesn't mean that she has to submit to your whims all the time!_'

'I _know_-' Hades drawled petulantly but was cut off as the green-skinned goddess continued.

'Persephone is _required_ to be on the surface during the spring and summer months, that is what Zeus decreed when she received her duties..'

'Uh, hello..' Hades actually rolled his eyes at his mother-in-law's words then smirked. '-I was there…I know all this..' Persephone chose not to say anything but her eyes quickly shut when she caught sight of the angry red patches that crossed Demeter's cheeks. The goddess was breathing heavily and her cornflower crown shook furiously. The white-skinned goddess just wanted to sigh and place her head in her hands… this was why she had long since given up answering her mother back. She had seen this look many times through out her childhood and it was easier just to agree than argue… unfortunately Hades wouldn't just back down.

'Oh you _know_ do you?' Demeter screeched loudly causing Hades to wince slightly… he was definitely going to have to book himself a hearing test once this was over with. The Goddess of Nature _really_ could scream for Gaia..

'Tell me Hades..' The green-skinned goddess folded her arms tightly across her ample bosom using the same stern tone she had used on both Bacchus and Persephone when they had been misbehaving godlings. '-if you know all this then why did you see fit to just swipe my little Cora off the surface and not tell me!'

'Oh _mo_-_om_..' Persephone scowled irritably. '-you know I hate that name..' Demeter ignored her daughter's remark and ploughed on relentlessly cutting off Hades as he opened his mouth to respond.

'Ok, I admit that we haven't always seen eye to eye in the past..' Both Hades and Persephone just wanted to roll their eyes at this comment… now there was a serious understatement. Demeter continued as though she had seen nothing. '-but ever since the two of you married I have been nothing but supportive, have I not?' She threw Hades a challenging look, as though daring him to contradict her.

'Yes ya have but-' Hades drawled before finding himself cut off again, the fiery god flashed a brief shade of orange as he was getting frustrated at not being able to put his point across.

'_Then what do you have to say for yourself?_' Demeter screamed so loud that Hades was convinced the whole of Greece had heard her.

Hades' eyes briefly swivelled to his wife before returning to his venomous looking mother-in-law who was practically snorting as her repressed fury built up inside her. Vaguely the fiery god recalled his wife making a comparison between a rabid Caledonian Boar and her irate mother, he could finally agree with that statement as the Goddess of Nature looked about two seconds from summoning Zeus for some 'divine' intervention..

Then slowly a hungry serpentine-like leer snaked it's way across the blue-flamed god's sharp features… there was only one thing he needed to say to his mother-in-law.

'April Fool's.'

For a brief millisecond there was no response before Demeter's cornflower blue eyes widened in shock, practically bulging out of her skull in incredulity at what had just been uttered to her. The whole thing would have been more comical if the situation hadn't been so serious. The Goddess of Nature then began spluttering as all the wind rushed out of her.

'Yu-you know about that?' The green-skinned goddess gasped out still trying to digest her shock, Hades sighed inwardly now becoming sick of this whole routine. Demeter meanwhile had finally turned to her daughter who had been watching the whole scene.

'How does _he_ know about the Cerelia Celebrations?' She asked her child in an accusing voice, as though trying to pin the blame onto her.

'Hey, don't look at me..' Persephone sounded affronted. '-I didn't tell him, it must have been Bacchus or Hermes..'

'Err, ladies..' The low timbre tones of Hades caused both goddess' to turn to the fiery god who was eyeing them with one brow raised in faint amusement. '-I hate to break up this little debate here but _who_ told me about this 'Cerelia Celebration-Thingy' isn't important right now ok..' Hades' amusement quickly melted away to reveal a frustrated expression. 'What I want to know is _why_ didn't either of you tell me about it?'

Both Demeter and her daughter blinked then glanced at each other before responding together.

'Well… you see, the thing is sweetie..' Persephone began smiling soothingly.

'-we didn't know how you would take it.' Demeter finished as her daughter nodded fervently.

'You were so irritated by Homer and his stupid Hymn that we thought you might take it badly..' Persephone sounded gently, her wide green eyes looking anxiously at her husband.

'-and the whole of Cerelia _is _based around the hymn.' Demeter said softly while smiling apologetically.

Hades groaned heavily at this new information and shook his head in disbelief at the pair of them.

'We just didn't want you to worry..' Persephone sighed as her green eyes rolled to the floor.

'You still shoulda told me..' Hades responded in a gentle tone which was laced with a disapproving edge, this was why he hated secrets between them… they just caused problems.

Persephone winced at her husband's dissatisfaction as it had been her decision not to tell him.

'I know..' She murmured with a soft sigh and leaning her head on his chest as the fiery god looped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace.

'So Hades..' Demeter sounded after a few moments causing Hades' yellow eyes to swivel onto Demeter. '-why did you stage this elaborate hoax..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, I hope you are all still liking this story and yes, believe it or not… there is one last chapter to go. After all… I'm sure we all can't wait to see if Hades' plan to irritate Zeus by making him drop a few notches on the 'Deity Approval Ratings' succeeds or not.. _

_Ok, the title of this chapter and a couple of references in it are referring to the fact that one of Demeter's surnames is 'Enryes' and under this name she was invoked as the Goddess of Rage and sometimes considered a Fury… hence Hades' little joke 'Who let the Fury out?' (which incidentally is also a little nudge towards the tune 'Who Let the Dogs Out?') XP_

_And just for those who were wondering what Hades' surname is… it's 'Chthonios' which means 'subterranean'.. I haven't decided whether or not it will come into any of my stories or not.._

_Keep your eyes peeled as the concluding chapter of this story will be posted on April the first…_

_Lots of Love… Ditzy X_


	8. So who's the April Fool?

_Heya peeps, this is another short fanfic about our favourite 'Deadly Double-Act' which is based around the Roman origin of April Fools Day… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: this story takes place somewhere during D.L.H and if you haven't read it or it's predecessors P.o.P or G.W.I you might get confused…_

_Enjoy and please review…_

* * *

**An 'April Fool's' Errand**

**Chapter Eight:So who's the April Fool?**

…_the following spring.._

'Oh-hoh..' Icarus cried out gleefully. '-move over Titan Smitin' Day, Icky has a new favourite day of the year!' The mortal man with sticky-up hair and mismatching eyes began dancing around in a kind of happy jig.

'Why is it your only interested in holidays that keep the masses in hysterics?' Cassandra's monotonous voice sounded as Hercules chuckled amused by his best friend's antics.

'Is shorty here for real..' Meg smirked from her burly husband's other side, resting a hand on her huge pregnancy bump.

'Unfortunately..' Cassandra replied smiling at Meg.

'Cassandra! My sweet, sweet rose..' Icarus sounded eagerly while sliding up to the red-headed seer who scowled at him. '-would you care to join me as I play a little prank on Phil.'

'No thanks..' Cassandra replied with a very rare amused smile at her biggest admirer and part-time stalker. '-I don't need to look into the future to see how that's gonna turn out..'

'Uh, Icarus..' Hercules sounded with a nervous smirk. '-maybe you shouldn't play a prank on Phil..' The young hero knew fine well that Phil wouldn't take the joke with good humour. Ever since retirement the satyr liked a quiet life on his home island. It had taken a lot of pleading, aided of course by huge blue puppy-eyes, to convince the old goat to come and spend the first official April Fool's Day with them in Hercules' home in Thebes.

'Oh stop stifling him Herc..' Meg gave a little laugh of amusement while picking up a cup of juice and taking a sip.

'He's always doing that Meg.' Icarus sounded while throwing her the kicked puppy look.

'I am not!' Hercules scowled at his best friend. 'Name _one_ time when I've done that..'

'Well..' Icarus tailed off into thought before he suddenly shook his head roughly. '-that's not the point! Your stifling me now!' Hercules shook his own head wearily at this.

'I'm not… really, I think it's great that you've got stuck into the spirit of April Fool's Day-' This of course was a massive understatement as the moment Icarus had arrived from his father's workshop in Athens the young inventor had been prancing about praising Hades for coming up with this topsy-turvy day where mischief and disorder ruled. In response to this a rather put-out Pegasus had now flown up a large chestnut tree and was refusing to come down until it was time to take Icarus home again.

'-It's just… maybe you could skip Phil..' The young hero sounded. '-he's just not the type of guy who'd appreciate a prank.'

'Skip Phil..' Icarus sounded as though this were a disaster. '-I can't skip Phil! The rules of April Fool's are clear.. Everybody must be pranked at least _once_-' He then uttered in a low voice. '-or they'll look a fool..'

Meg's violet eyes narrowed in devious amusement and the pregnant girl lent into Icarus uttering in a pitying tone,

'Oh don't you listen to Wonder Boy..' Meg pinched his cheek in an adoring fashion.'-if you want to go prank Phil, you go prank Phil.'

'Really? Ya mean it?' Icarus sounded eagerly. 'No foolin'..'

'Of course not, this is my home too..' Meg said in a sincere tone ignoring the look of shock on Hercules' face. '-now go get him tiger..' She added causing Icarus to make a soft growling noise before stalking off in the direction his best friend's wife was pointing.

'Meg!' Hercules sounded horrified.

'Sheesh Wonder Boy, let him have his fun, isn't that what this holiday is about?' Meg waved off her husband causing Hercules to make a low noise of irritation in the back of his throat before swivelling around at the sound of a loud splash.

'What the-?' Came Phil's surprised voice.

'_April Fool's Baby!_' Icarus' voice declared loudly.

'I'll April Fool you ya little putz..' The goat-man sounded infuriated and this was followed by a loud yell from Icarus.

'Oh boy.' Hercules sounded worried before running towards the sounds of the ruckus.

'You are seriously twisted..' Cassandra sounded smirking at Meg who returned it.

'Maybe..' She sounded lightly in agreement. '-but it's fun to see the nanny goat go nuts..'

'Totally..' The gloomy seer responded. '-perhaps today wasn't a complete loss after all.'

'What do you mean?' Meg asked as the two women walked slowly in the direction of Hercules who was obviously still trying to calm down his enraged mentor.

'Phil. _Phil.. _put Icarus down, it was only a simple prank..'

'The Oracle of Delphi decided that the Physic Friends Network would remain closed for April Fool's Day, apparently nobody wants advice on the future if they know they're going to be humiliated..'

'Heh, makes sense I guess..' Meg sounded amused.

'Yeh, first thing she's ever said that did.' Cassandra replied. 'So how come you two are house-bound, I thought Herc said something about you flying over to check out the Cerelia Celebrations in Rome.' Meg sighed heavily.

'Yeh… we were gonna see what the buzz was _but-_' Meg gestured to her pregnancy bump. '-with the baby due any day now Hippocrites said any kind of travel is out of the question, so here we are..' Suddenly Meg gave a grunt of pain causing Cassandra's deep green eyes to widen.

'Are you ok?' She asked concerned as Meg gripped a chair to support herself.

'I'll be fine, it's these darn hicks again..' She groaned breathing slowly waiting for the pain to pass.

'Uh Meg..' Cassandra sounded worried, suddenly noticing the puddle on the floor. '-that's not hicks..'

'What?' The pregnant girl's violet eyes widened as she too noticed the puddle at her feet.

'I'll go get Hercules..' Cassandra then ran outside to where Hercules was.

'_Ahh_.. Get him away from me Herc, he's got that hungry look in his eyes..' Icarus was pleading to his best friend now as Phil was snorting like the irritated goat he was.

'I got your prank Icarus.. _right here!_' Phil lowered his horns and charged at the spiky-haired man who screamed girlishly and ran behind Hercules. The young hero caught his mentor and lifted him up so the satyr could vent without hurting anybody.

'Phil, this is for your own good..' He sounded decisively as the satyr snarled and tried to break free. The young hero then turned at Cassandra appeared on the porch out of breath.

'The baby's coming..' She sounded frantically. For a brief moment the guys looked stunned, except Phil who was still venting. Icarus was the first to respond.

'Oh ha-ha-ha very funny honey..' He sounded amused winking at Hercules who shook his head amused at this lame attempt of an April Fool's joke.

'Why is it when I'm being serious you two think I'm joking..' She frowned folding her arms together tightly then as if on cue Meg screamed out in pain from inside the house.

'Oh my gosh, Meg..' Hercules sounded surprised, dropping a stunned Phil and running inside to his wife.

'Hey! Watch it, some of us have sensitive hides..' The goat-man grumbled as he got to his feet then turned to the two misfits beside him. 'So what's going on now?'

'Meg's having her baby..' Cassandra sounded panicked.

'So this isn't a really lame April Fool's prank?' Icarus sounded.

'No!' The red-headed seer glared back.

'Herc is gonna be a daddy..' Icarus sniffed emotionally. '-he's growing up so fast..'

'Ok, buddy don't get all emotional on me just yet..' Phil waved his hands to silence the pair. '-I need you two house-sit while we take Meg to Hippocrates, alright?' He sounded before turning to the chestnut tree and giving a sharp whistle.

'Yes sir..' Icarus sounded keenly with an over exaggerated salute.

'What is this a punishment?' Cassandra sounded faintly as Pegasus swooped down, scooped up Phil and flew off to get Hercules and Meg. The moment they were gone Icarus slid over to Cassandra wiggling his brows.

'So my sweet Casserole… I guess it's just gonna be you and me, all alone..' He grinned suggestively before Cassandra pushed him away roughly.

'Uh, don't make me sick..' She sounded before stalking off.

* * *

…_meanwhile, on Olympus…_

Hades was in a sickeningly cheerful mood this morning, granted he hadn't had a lot of sleep last night thanks to his wife being so restless but it didn't stop him from being in a perky mood. His wife on the other hand wasn't quite in such a lively frame of mind, Persephone was coming up to the three month mark of her pregnancy and if constantly succumbing to morning sickness wasn't bad enough her husband's elated humming was giving her a headache.

'Uh..' The pregnant goddess groaned as she and her husband took their usual place by a shady pillar for the Spring Celebrations. '-why do they call it morning sickness if you have to suffer it all the time?' She griped clutching her stomach feeling another wave of nausea wash over her, it was a miracle that she'd survived the chariot ride up here.

'Ah, I dunno.. probably some blonde bimbo's idea..' Hades waved off her question airily before noticing her sickly expression. 'Whoa baby you don't look so good..' He then rummaged around in his pocket for something before hauling out a large pack of crackers. '-here ya go, I brought ya some saltines..' He smirked as she accepted the packet.

'Oh, that's so sweet of you..' Persephone sounded pulling out one of the salty little biscuits and nibbling on it, feeling a little better for it.

Ah, heh..' Hades pulled on the neck of his chiton blushing a faint pink before returning to normal and adding, '-it was nothing babe, any decent husband would do it for his wife..' He suddenly coughed uneasily into his wrist and lent against the pillar as Zeus appeared on stage holding a scroll in his left hand.

'Hey, hey how about that?' Hades grinned widely. 'Saved by the Zeus..' He then turned away from his wife and shuddered. '-urgh, there's something I never wanna say again..'

'A new year has begun and to those who do not live here on Olympus, welcome back to the cloud..' Many of the non-resident gods including Poseidon and Amphitrite smiled and murmured a amiable acknowledgement to these words. Hades on the other hand sneered.

'Oh would ya look at that, he finally notices the little people.' His good mood seemed to be slipping with every word that spewed forth from Zeus' lips.

'Hmm..' Persephone sounded chewing on another cracker. '-better late than never I suppose..'

'In the spirit of this new beginning I feel we should leave any ill-feelings and arguments in the past and move into this new year with a clean slate..' Zeus was saying causing another murmur of agreement to ripple through the crowd. 'So without further ado let's take a look at the Deity Approval Ratings..' Zeus then unfurled the scroll causing some excited whispers to start up around the cloud. Apparently there was a lot of buzz about Demeter this year.

Hades grinned and rubbed his hands together complete with a serpentine leer twisted across his face.

'I gotta good feelin' about this year..' He sounded excitedly to his wife who shrugged in a non-committal sort of way, her mouth too full of cracker to speak.

'Now let's see here..' Zeus sounded frowning at the list of deities before smiling and adding in a low voice. '-well, I can see I've dropped a few notches..' His mouth twisted as though he had a bad taste it it and Hades snickered amused causing his blue flames to creep slowly down his shoulders.

'Ok, this years leading deity is _Demeter_..' The golden tanned god sounded proudly and the green-skinned Goddess of Nature repositioned her Horn of Plenty and gave a small regal wave as her fellows cheered and praised her.

'Congratulations to you Demeter-' Zeus broke off from his words as both Underworld deities chose to interrupt his best wishes with their own.

'Woo-hoo, you da goddess!' Hades shouted in approval practically lit up like some strange white and blue flamed beacon.

'That's my Mama!' Persephone squealed excitedly chapping eagerly. Demeter actually flushed with embarrassment at her subterranean family who she suspected were doing this deliberately to get a rise out of Zeus.

'Oh, thank you guys..' She sounded in a small voice acknowledging them before turning away.

'Moving along..' The golden tanned god sounded decisively slightly irritated by the Underworld's behaviour. Both Hades and Persephone shared an amused smirk but silenced so Zeus wouldn't be forced to bring the bolts out on them.

'And waay, way down at the bottom of the list is Ares God of War..' Zeus smiled apologetically at his red-skinned son who didn't actually seem to care. '-I'm sorry son, I guess nobody is that into war this time of year..' He chuckled amused at this.

'Ah don't worry about it Zeus, there's still plenty of time for a decent war to break out..' Ares sounded waving his father off dismissively and the golden god blinked surprised at his words before shrugging and carrying on.

'As for the rest of you Hermes our council scribe, has a few extra copies of the ratings list so you can check your positions later..' The tiny blue Messenger suddenly flew in and handed a scroll to various gods including Hades before zipping over to Zeus looking excited.

'Hah!' Hades sounded gleefully as he unfurled the scroll. 'Zeus has plummeted down to sixth position..' The fiery god snickered amused. '-right below us..' He pushed the scroll in front of Persephone's face so she could see the list:

**Deity Approval Ratings: ****MCDXXVII OTC**

**Demeter**

**Aphrodite**

**Cupid**

**Hera**

**Hades & Persephone**

**Zeus**

Persephone smirked amused at this. She and her husband had agreed to share everything when they had married so they were always listed as a set in the ratings.

'No wonder Bolt Boy looked put out when he saw the ratings.'

'See..' Hades sounded gleefully seizing his wife joyfully around the middle. '-I told ya it would work didn't I?' He spun her around then quickly deposited her on the ground causing her to retch slightly.

'Uh… don't do that too often sweetie, I don't know how much my stomach can take.' She murmured in a fragile tone as Hades began fidgeting excitedly.

'I beat Zeus in the rating stakes..' He sing-songed cheerfully as his wife groaned feeling sickly again and rummaged in the packet for another cracker. 'Hah-cha-cha nothin' can spoil this day now..'

Zeus blinked at Hermes in shock for a whole two seconds before his words sunk in. Apparently he had just returned from Thebes with this really big news.

'Hermes..' The tanned god sounded chuckling, knowing what this was immediately because it was the first of April. '-I expected better from you young man..'

'Huh?' The Messenger God blinked confused, he thought Zeus would have been pleased with this news.

'Honestly, you call yourself a Trickster God..' He continued to laugh to himself amused.

'Whoa, whoa, hold up there..' Hermes suddenly realised that the Lord of Olympus thought this was a very bad prank. '-this ain't no April Fool's big guy, Meg really _has_ just had the baby..' Zeus blinked again before his face split into a massive grin. This was exactly the kind of news that he needed to save face from the humiliation of coming in sixth after the Underworld couple.

Persephone's perfectly neat brows contracted in concern as she caught Zeus giving Hermes a bone crunching hug and looking oddly ecstatic over something, she then turned to her husband who was still looking delighted by beating Zeus.

'Uh, maybe you wanna hold off the celebrations 'til we find out what that's about..' She said making her husband blink at her confused before following her dainty pointed finger to the stage where Zeus was looking very pleased about something indeed.

'Gods and Goddesses of Greece..' Zeus once more addressed the dozens of gods out there. '-I have just received some exciting news, and I promise that this is no joke..' He decided to qualify that just in case the others thought it was. 'Hera and myself have just become grandparents!' There was a moment of shock at this before Hera gave a little smile, her face brimming with happy tears.

'What?' Hades sounded completely disbelief by these words.

'My son Hercules has just become a father to a little boy named Hyllos.' Zeus declared and the numerous gods in the pantheon began cheering, congratulating Hera and Zeus and celebrating this joyous news. There were only two gods not celebrating this news.

Persephone groaned inwardly after swallowing her cracker. This was just rotten timing..

'_Gahhhh!_' Hades roared in anguish and smouldering furiously as he smashed his red burning fist into the pillar. '_Jerkules beat me again! I frickin' hate that kid!_' His loud hollering and brilliant orange flames weren't even noticed by the crowd of gods who were busy celebrating the good news. Before Persephone could even think of soothing her severely disappointed husband he erupted in a massive column of smoke and flames, vanishing off the cloud leaving his wife to hack on the second-hand smoke.

'Whoa..' A cheery voice sounded as the pregnant goddess managed to sweep the smoke away. '-_somebody_ was in a bad mood.' Persephone turned around to see Hermes floating beside her, after managing to pull himself away from Zeus he'd headed straight for his best friend.

'Let's just say this April Fool's didn't turn out like he'd _planned_..' Persephone smirked as she shook her head wryly.

'Ya want me to drive ya home since you aren't old enough for a Flyin' Chariot Licence babe?'

'Sure, but let's enjoy some of the festivities first..' The white-skinned goddess linked arms with the blue-skinned Messenger.'-something tells me my hubby's gonna need a little time to himself right now..' And with that the two gods disappeared into the crowd of multi-coloured gods.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Happy April Fool's Peeps, I hope you all have a fun day! Unfortuntely my plans for the 1st have changed, I was supposed to take part in an April Fool's joke with some of the girls from work where we'd phone in sick and then show up on time. I strained the muscles in my shoulder so I got signed off work instead so please make the most of your day!_

_It suddenly occurred to me while writing this story that I haven't done any Cassandra and Icarus writing in any of my fics until this point so enjoy XP_

_Ok, what Icarus says about the 'Rule of April Fool's' isn't true, it's a twist on the actual rule that says: only a real fool fails to take a prank with good humour.._

_I'm going to leave you to guess what the year on the ratings scroll is (here's a hint, the last three letters stand for Olympic Time Compendium) as those who have studied their Roman Numerals correctly should easily work it out._

_Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this story!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


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